In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Luke 1:39-45 NRSVue
We decided to watch the new Netflix film Joy because the subject matter of this biopic intrigued us and because Bill Nighy is one of the principal actors and he rarely disappoints. The film is about the team that developed in vitro fertilization (IVF) in the late 1960s and beyond.
In 1968 Nurse Jean Purdy was hired in Cambridge, Great Britain for a lab manager post by scientist Dr Robert Edwards. Together, they recruit innovative obstetrician and surgeon Patrick Steptoe. Although Purdy was arguably in a subordinate role the two men regarded her as an equal partner in their efforts.
There was lots of resistance to this research from the medical community and from Christian institutions. They were accused of playing god and Edwards was termed Dr. Frankestein.
Jean Purdy
Purdy has been described as a devout Christian and struggled with the fact that Steptoe also performed abortions. In the film Jean and her mother are shown to be regular churchgoers. They had a close relationship with their vicar Reverend Paulson but eventually she was asked to stop attending worship and was shunned by her mother for a time.
One of the reasons I was interested in the film is that the daily scripture readings last week s included the story of "barren" Hannah, who prayed fervently for a child and was mocked for her infertility by her husband's other wife. In the end her prayers are answered and she gives birth to Samuel who grows up to be a prophet of Israel.
It struck me as I read about Hannah that there are a lot of biblical stories about infertility and unexpected fertility (Mary, the mother of Jesus.) Women have always been the vulnerable ones in these stories, often shamed, because of course it was never because the guys were shooting blanks. The in vitro researchers were well aware of the sadness and stigma many of their patients experienced. During my years in ministry I was aware of the struggles of some parishioners to have children. For some there was joy as a result of treatment, for others grief.
Millions of women around the world have conceived as a result of IVF. What a remarkable gift to those parents. Yet when we look south of the border many jurisdictions are resolutely marching back in time, making women vulnerable once again after decades of progress when it comes to reproductive choice. This includes ending funding for IVF in some states. And once again it is often Christians who are leading the pack in calling for restrictive legislation. Women are afraid of prosecution and censure for treatments and procedures and so are the medical personnel who want to help them. Some have died for lack of timely medical intervention. We need to be vigilant in our country as we seem to be shifting to the right.
Dr. Edwards eventually won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his research and success. Dr. Steptoe had died by this time and Nobel Prizes can't be awarded posthumously. Jean Purdy? Edwards insisted that her name be added to the plaque honouring their work, initially to no avail. Her efforts were recognized long after her cancer death at age 39.
The first "test tube baby" -- remember that term? -- was Louise Joy Brown who is now 46 years old and a physician.
Perhaps in the weeks ahead when we hear in Luke about barren Elizabeth, getting on in years, and the confused young Mary who is told of an unexpected pregnancy we can ponder how these stories are received by women in the midst of their own challenges with infertlity and fertility.
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